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Amid Storm Recovery, Marathon Expo Opens Doors to Runners

Upstairs at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Thursday, exhibitors commanded rows of booths showcasing things like brightly colored compression socks, dry-fit shirts, green cups of Gatorade samples and nutrition bars made with chia seeds — items that apparently appeal to people who are three days away from running a marathon.

Downstairs, staffers worked to clean up the water-damaged floor, which emitted a faintly stale odor that wafted with the brew of a nearby Starbucks outpost. “It’s safe,” Alan Steel, president and chief executive of the convention center, said.

This year’s New York City Marathon, for better or worse, will no doubt be remembered as the one that was held days after Hurricane Sandy roared through the region, debilitating transportation systems, knocking out power to millions of homes and killing dozens. Some feel the race should be canceled, out of respect for those still suffering from the damage of the storm. Others say the race must go on, as a symbol of the city’s resilience and as an economic stimulant.

The hurricane and the marathon were brought together under the convention center’s roof Thursday, on the Far West Side of Manhattan, as the event’s exposition opened. The hall smelled like new sneakers. “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” a curious selection, blared from speakers.

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At the New York City Marathon expo at the Javits Convention Center, runners were able to pose in front of a photo of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.Credit
Angel Franco/The New York Times

Exhibitors who usually have days to set up had mere hours, some working late into Wednesday night or arriving early Thursday morning, coffee cups in hand. Runners, carrying their clear gift bags and bibs, roamed around, sampling protein shakes, trying on shoes and watching flat-screen TVs showing footage of various marathon courses.

Jessica Stephens and Kirsty Murfitt arrived from Wellington, New Zealand, last Friday.

“We wanted to do New York because it’s the biggest and the best,” Stephens said. “We were here, and we can see the storm was very, very serious. At the same time, people spend a lot of money at the local businesses here, and New Yorkers have a can-do attitude.”

Mary Wittenberg, chief executive of New York Road Runners, the marathon organizer, made her way to the entrance and greeted employees and volunteers working at the event.

“This isn’t about running,” she said. “This is about helping the city.”

She added: “We’re dedicating this race to the lives that were lost and helping the city recover. We want to raise money and awareness.”

Lt. Larry Quinn, of the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation, said he left Long Island at 5:30 Thursday morning and arrived at the Javits Convention Center at 9 a.m. After battling traffic into the city, he and other volunteers unpacked cardboard boxes of T-shirts, sweatshirts and baseball hats to sell. The proceeds go to the charity, which supports treatment for burn victims and research.

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Bob Beckwith, Greg Batgay, Larry Quinn and Margie Quinn at the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation booth.Credit
Angel Franco/The New York Times

“We got guys sleeping on cots and working long hours,” Quinn said. “A lot of firemen live in Breezy Point, and their homes are gone.”

He paused, holding a T-shirt in his hand. “But we’re a nonprofit,” he said. “We need the money that we raise here for the foundation. We support the marathon.”

Many runners wanting to show their support for the event faced significant travel hurdles, as the area’s airports slowly restored service. Martin Kraenzlein and his wife, Bettina, arrived Wednesday from Munich and said they were surprised when their rescheduled flight arrived in time for them to make it to the expo Thursday morning.

“It’s a very difficult discussion,” Kraenzlein, who will run his ninth marathon this weekend, said about the debate over whether to stage the race. “But I understand why it must go on. The marathon is part of the city.”

Marie Wickham, a resident of the Upper East Side who collected her 22nd bib for the New York City Marathon at the expo, said: “It’s always emotional at the end. You can’t help that. It’s always special, but I think it will be different. This will be a marathon I’ll remember.”

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Marathon Preparation Continues

Timekeepers for the New York Marathon continue their preparations despite complications from Hurricane Sandy.

By early afternoon, some of the empty vendor booths had filled up, and lines for bibs were nearly empty. A man with a headset, a blender and a plastic baggie of carrots demonstrated how to make tortilla soup to a dozen transfixed onlookers. A shoe company had a treadmill up and running, to give runners the full effect when they tried on shoes.

Much of the crowd arrived bleary-eyed, but grateful, speaking of fellow runners who were still stranded, family members who called off trips or tales of locals who had evacuated because of the storm’s destruction.

“We’re definitely sympathetic to the New York Road Runners and the decision they had to make,” Dave Humphreys, with the Dublin Marathon, one of the exhibitors at the expo, said. “But I really believe you go ahead and run. You have people all over the world who train for months to make it here.”

Among them is Frank LaDonna, a 60-year-old retired school psychologist who said he hoped to hit a time of 3 hours 47 minutes Sunday. In the two years leading up to the race, he said, he has lost 35 pounds. “Even though I lost that weight, my date of birth didn’t change,” he said.

LaDonna, who drove in for the expo from Fort Lee, N.J., said he was not directly affected by the storm and said he approved of the decision to go forward with the marathon.

“The strange thing is, the weather on Sunday could be great for running,” he said.

A version of this article appears in print on November 2, 2012, on page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: Amid Storm Recovery, Marathon Expo Opens Doors to Runners. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe